Aiden Shield and Reaper Squad
by RangerWolf5
Summary: Aiden Shield is what seems to be your normal family man, with a loving wife and beautiful daughter. But while his wife and friends think he is a private security contractor he and several of his closest friends are really Spec Ops soldiers that have a habit of finding trouble every where they go which lead to some interesting events.
1. 1- New beginning

Standing alone in the back of the AC-130 watching a singular red light over the thunderous drone of the plane's engines a man prepares his finally checks on his chute, rifle, ammo and other systems before waiting patiently for the load master to lower the back ramp for him. Snapping off a crisp salute he takes the few steps forward out onto the lowered ramp while the load master inches forwards alongside him, holding onto his tether. The man laughs as the load master offers him a tether, holding up his left hand palm facing the man as his right goes to his throat to key the mike "I live for this shit Aaron", Aaron the load master simple shakes his head and laughs, keying his mike to reply "It's your hide Aiden not mine. If the REMF's hear about this you're getting benched for good this time." Aiden Shield stands at 5'10", jet black hair that's cut high and tight along with matching eyes, and a solid 195lbs build from his years as a SOF operator sees the light go from red to green and laughs out. Running towards the dark abyss that is laid out before him, Aiden turns as he jumps off the ramp to flip Aaron the finger laughing into his throat mike. Aaron swears out into the darkness as he grins and shakes his head, jamming his thumb into the controls to raise the ramp as the AC-130 disappears into the moonlit night.

The sound of the rushing wind assaults Aiden's ears as his eyes remain shut, thoroughly enjoying the rush from the adrenaline high as he plummets towards the earth, the flashing light and vibration on his wrist alert him to deploy his chute in time to finish out the flight on the HALO jump. Landing with a solid thud Aiden impacts the empty field several hundred meters behind the house, glancing at the windows to see that they are still dark as he polices his chute and packs it away. Setting out at a dead run once the chute it stowed away a cool female voice crackles to life in his ear "You have 5 minutes before their arrival, haul ass Reaper 1-4. Sky-eye will provide updates on their travel path as needed." Aiden smirks and shakes his head as his back hits the low stone wall at the home's perimeter, silently replying "thanks shelly… But I can handle it from here, Reaper 1-4 out… and don't be cheap and buy around for the guys when you get back this time ok?" Aiden Smirks at the reply from Sky-eye as they pull off orbit and head for base, mantling over the low wall to rush the back door, using a pick to defeat the lock before rushing upstairs. Skidding to a stop Aiden freezes as a set of headlights wash across the front of the building and hit him square in the face "Shit they are home early" looking around as he begins to strip down out of his gear to store it in the false back of the closet. Grabbing a towel Aiden quickly steps into the bathroom and runs a hot shower, leaving the towel draped over door as he scrubs off the black face paint and other grim just as the front door opens and he hears the click of heels on the floor. Looking down at his watch Aiden grins "Right on time", drying off with the towel and steps out with it around his waist he dresses quickly, finishing just as his wife opens the door, holding their sleeping daughter Serenity in her arms.

Jennifer Shield, Aiden's wife stands a little shorter than him at about 5'6", long blonde hair that falls to about half way down her shoulder blades, bright blue eyes and slender build, walks over to her husband and kisses his softly on the cheek as he wraps both her and Serenity in his arms, whispering to her "Looks like the little one is all tired out from day care huh?" Aiden gingerly places a kiss on his wife's forehead before stepping away to grab a fresh set of clothes from his dresser, stepping into the bathroom to dress but leaves the door opens slightly "Hey baby don't forget that Robert and Serena Prowler are throwing a party tonight, semiformal as usual with them" Smiles softly at his wife as he tucks in his olive drab button down shirt once he is finished changing, Jen turns and laughs softly "We really need to get expand your selection of clothing" softly teasing him as she brings up the age old argument on his dress, not knowing his true occupation. They go back and forth for a while joking and laughing as Jen picks out a dress and changes into, Aiden sits down on the bed beside their sleeping daughter and smiles down at her. Gently runs the back of his hand along the top of Serenity's head and sings a soft lullaby to her, not long after Jen asks him to tuck in the sleeping child before they leave. Picking Serenity up he takes her to the nursery and tucks her in for the night before returning to his wife who is now wearing a matching dress, a deep V-ed but flowing dress that went down to just below her knees as well as a set of heels which brings her up to Aiden's height. He smiles as he takes his beautiful wife in his arms and kisses affectionately, whispers softly "We should hurry less we be late" Winks teasingly to Jen as he offers his arm and leads her to his car where the family minus their sleeping daughter loading into the vehicle and drives off. Aiden knows that their little girl is safe with the security measures he has in place while he holds Jen's hand, most of the ride passes by in silence as she watches the scenery pass by in the night blur, finally she speaks up "You seem to be travelling a lot lately… is everything alright with your work? I mean I know you're working for the DoD but they said you would be home more…" Aiden looks to his wife slightly sad as he still has to lie to the woman he trusts wholly and completely "You know how things are picking up in the middle east… they need defense contractors there to inspect buildings and the latest tech… you know that sweetie" leans over to kiss her cheek tenderly as Jen bites her bottom lip and nods "…ok… just be safe… please…" Aiden smiles reassuringly and nods "Always" _and yet another lie… _Aiden thinks to himself as they pull into the Prowler's driveway.


	2. 2- Dinner party

Stepping out of the car Aiden smiles over to his wife before they both go to the door and ring the bell, not long after the door opens up but instead of seeing either Robert or Serena a small girl stands in the doorway wrapped in a blanket sucking her thump, Ember Prowler smiles seeing who it is and hugs Jen's legs giggling "Auntie! You're here!" Aiden smiles and laughs as his wife scoops up the little girl in her arms and spins her around before walking inside where Robert and his wife greet them. Robert is built fairly similar to Aiden standing at 5'9" and 172 lbs, his brown hair is grown out slightly longer as he is not a front line soldier wears a brown polo and black slacks. Serena being Jen's twin looks almost exactly like Aiden's wife exact the eye color and height, standing at 5'5" and with deep brown eyes in contrast to her sisters. Serena wears a similar dress to Jen but its more conservative and a light tan. Jen sets down Ember as she greets her sister Serena warmly, Ember looking around slightly confused while tugging on Jen's dress "where is Serenity… I wanna play…" Robert taps Aiden on the shoulder to pull him aside while the girls catch up and guide the little one into the living room, once the girls are out of ear shot Robert extends a hand to Aiden and whispers "damn good work over in the middle east Reaper 1-4… but we have another job for you in about 4 weeks, this time its Russia…" he pauses to let it sink in before going on to explain the details "HQ wants all remaining Reapers deployed on this one… including me…" Aiden frowns and looks in at his wife seeing her laugh and smile before she looks back at him and waves, causing him to smile and wave back "Damn man… you know I need some RnR… Jen is starting to question things as it is and I hardly get to see my family now… can't they send in Ghost squad instead? And why would they put a REMF on the lines?" Smirks as he smacks Robert on the shoulder at the comment, "We both know that Ghost has been benched for the past 3 months while they are combat ready… plus we just got the new recruit…" Aiden doesn't like the way this is starting to sound even though Reaper squad has the best success rate of all the units, never a man lost or mission failed. Aiden continues "And why Russia? I thought we had a treaty with them?"

Before he can continue Robert hands a file to Aiden and all but forces him to take it as Jen walks over to them smiling "I see the boys are busy talking business as usual? Not too busy for dinner I hope" she laughs and winks before kissing her husband on the cheek and walks back into the dining room, both Robert and Aiden follow after her with Aiden glaring angrily at the host which quickly turns to a pleasant smile as he takes his seat beside his wife at the table. The rest of the night passes pleasantly enough, after dinner the guys wash up dishes with Ember's help while the girls sit out on the back porch talking over some wine, Jen looks down slightly "Hey sis?... you think they guys are hiding something from us?... I mean Aiden is always tired after his trips… sometimes he even smells like gunpowder… and once he came home with what looked like a gunshot wound on his arm… he said it was a training accident but I don't think so…" Jen bites her bottom lip again as she looks at her sis. Serena places a hand on her younger sister's back and offers a gentle smile "well he does travel overseas a lot so it could be jet lag… as for the gunpowder and wound I don't know… Robert has had similar things happen to him but I don't think they are lying… and for their sake let us hope not…" Serena nudges her sis and laughs before they head inside to rejoin their husbands. The night finishes out with the group talking in the living room with Robert and Aiden holding their wives but Ember is curled up in Jen's arms sleeping peacefully.

Not long after the Shield's take their leave and head home after thanking their hosts and saying their good byes to a tired Ember, once in the car Jen leans over and rests her head on Aiden's shoulder and whispers to him "Would you tell me if something was wrong?... would you lie to me?..." She looks up at him with her bright blue eyes waiting for his reply. Aiden smiles a bit and looks into her eyes when he gets the chance "Of course I would tell you my dear… and why would I lie?" Jen simple shrugs and lets it go at that. As the four weeks go by Jen seems to grow increasingly distance as Aiden readies for yet another business trip to the middle east, sending him off with a curt kiss and crossed arms as she is obviously upset by things. Aiden feeling like crap for lying to her once more and leaving so soon drives off to the Prowler's residence and picks up Robert, Reaper 1-1, from an equally unhappy Serena. The drive to the base lasts a painfully silent 4 hours but by the time they arrive both men have changed from their loving husband and father selves to the cold hearted killers they are. Stepping from the vehicle all personal there snaps into crisp salutes as they pass and head into the Reaper barracks, already a murmur to their presence resonates through the base as the entire Reaper squad has never been together on base for a single mission.


	3. 3- Reunion

Aiden and Robert both walk into the briefing room where the remainder of Reaper Squad is seated awaiting the brief. Cobra, Reaper 1-5, the teams demo expert stands at 6' even and is dressed in the spec ops black fatigues, blackish brown hair that is long enough to stand on end, sits playing a video game on a handheld device. The last member of Reaper squad is also the newest member, Tweak, was the group's heavy weapons operator fresh from basic standing shorter than the rest at 5'8" dressed in the same spec ops fatigues but was reading a weapon manual. Aiden, call sign Wolf, takes his seat next to Cobra and smirks as he peers over the man's shoulder at the game "Still stuck on the same level I see… too bad you can't just use C-4 and kill em all right?" both men laugh at the running joke about Cobra and his C-4 addiction. As Robert, Cap, takes his seat near the front of the room a Lt. Colonel enters the room "Officer on deck" Robert's voice rings out to get the desired result of all 4 squad members jumping from their seats and snapping off crisp salutes with boot heels clicking in unison. Lt. Colonel "Havoc" drops a folder on the table at the front of the room and motions for the collection to sit as he begins the briefing, carefully avoiding any words related to explosives due to Cobra's tendency to rush off wanting to blow stuff up.

After the two hour briefing all four soldiers leave the room, grab their respective kits; Cap being the squad medic loads up on extra dressings and plasma after checking over his M-4 carbine equipped with red dot sight, fore grip and adjustable stock with a colt 1911 as his side arm. Cobra grins ear to ear as he guides his rolling luggage bag weighing roughly 60 pounds packed with nothing but C-4, det cord and blasting caps while his ACR slung over his shoulder on its three point harness. Tweak still reading slings three ammo belts around his neck with additional ammo for the group and himself in his ruck sack before he grabs the M249 Bravo by its handle and brings it along as if it was carry luggage for a business trip. Wolf brings up the rear of the group texting Jen as usual telling her he is about to board for the flight to Europe for a security conference, customized M200 Intervention in its rifle case in one hand fitted with a bipod and 12x zoom scope, thermal and night vision and dual 1911 on his thighs. A corporal runs up to the assembled men and salutes, mouth hung ajar as he looks over the odd collection that is Reaper squad before directing then to the waiting AC-130, upon boarding Cap immediately disappears to get final mission brief from the on board commander while the remaining three settle into the webbed chairs running the length of the haul while they wait for the plane to taxi. Aiden sends off one more text as the plane jumps into the air, destination Western Russia.

About half way through the trip Cap returns to the compartment where the rest of the squad is, holding onto a hand sling as the plane hits a nasty patch of turbulence "Well change in plans, drop your gear in the ammo crate near the front of the plane and get into your neural link suits… HQ wants us to use the big toys" The group all look over at a sleeping Cobra and grin out of relief as they all know how he reacts when he gets to use his favorite kit. About eight hours after liftoff they land in a remote wooded base about 100 miles south of Savukoski, where Cobra is fully awake and acting as if he just chugged 2 gallons of Monster energy drinks. All four men stand at the ramp dawned in their matte black suit with several contact points at the joints and shoulders as well as at the center of the chest, Wolf and Cap stand back some as Tweak groans and stretches out "You all know what is going to happen once the mission starts right?" Tweak turns to the group as he asks the question, ramp beginning to lower. Wolf laughs as he points to Cobra who is laying at the very top of the ramp, head pressed to the floor "I think he isn't even going to wait for the mission to start…" Cobra remains still as the first beams of light hit his eye as it is pressed to the floor waiting; as soon as there is enough room for him to squeeze out of the interior he does so. Falling the from the still lowering ramp down onto the concrete floor, the resounding thud drawing the attention of those near but the soon following shout gets everyone's attention "PRETTY BLUE LADY! I AM BACK!" Cobra sings out as he races across the hanger bay to a worn down armored mech stands in its stall, the hologram of a woman with shoulder length hair turns at the voice, eyes going wide "Oh shit… they are hear ahead of schedule…" Blue lady, the combat "smart" AI that is attached to Cobra's mech shuts off her pedestal just as he rounds the corner and looks for her, appearing sad that he cannot find her.


	4. 4- Mission Start

Wolf and Cap laugh as they walk up behind Cobra, Wolf placing a hand on man's shoulder before speaking to the depressed soldier "Maybe she is on break or sleeping… you know how women are man" the squad breaks into a laugh just as Wolf's cell dings to sound off that he received a new text message, stepping away he checks it and smiles as its from his wife and daughter, replies that he landed safely but will be crashing soon to rest, pocketing the phone just as the Lt. rounds the corner to give them the final mission brief. It becomes painfully clear that no one briefed the man about Cobra's trigger words as in the first sentence from the man's mouth sends Cobra into a frenzy "Reaper squad… your objectives this time are simple; search, secure and neutralize enemy held weapons and explosive cache at the designated bases" the Lt. pauses in that moment as Cobra begins to scale his mech, gets behind the torso and slips into the cockpit with a wicked grin on his face. Wolf, Tweak and Cap all face palm at the same time as the generator begins to whine to life and the mech lights up, Blue Lady reappear on her pedestal, hands on her hips and scowling as she taps her foot "Cobra…. You power down that mech this instant!" a she yells the final word a pulse is sent through the room from the pedestal to show her anger stopping the other three pilots in their tracks as they are half way to their own mechs. A small timid voice sounds from the external speakers on Cobra's mech "…yes blue lady…" not long after the mech is powered down and lifeless once more, Cobra slinks out of the cockpit and climbs down to the pedestal where Blue Lady stands arms folded but smiling some "Honestly your more trouble than a child… what are we going to do with you" she laughs and moves to pat Cobra on the head as he wears a sly smile and leans towards her. The Lt. clears his throat to finish out the briefing which lasts in total thirty additional minutes before allowing Reaper squad to board their machines and select their armaments for the mission.

The weapons they pick out for their mechs were similar to what they grabbed at the start of the op but with some noticeable variations, mainly Tweak instead of opting for the heavy weapons grabs a set of SMGs for his mech as well as a pair of energy blades to store as backups. Cobra in typical fashion equips the biggest heaviest most damaging weapons he can find, in this case a pair of howitzers which since they are too heavy to be held in the arms are mounted on the shoulders, severely limiting the mobility of his mech, grabbing a pair of handguns as well for close quarters work. Cap stows his combat shield on the back of his machine while carrying the long range assault rifle in both hands while the team waits for Wolf to finish his selection of gear, switching channels so only Tweak and Cobra can hear him "Geez he takes longer to get ready for a mission than my wife does for a party…" all three men laugh as Wolf finally leans the armory, collapsible sniper cannon with bipod slung over his shoulders and dual combat knives on each thigh. With a silent nod all four machines leave the bay and set out onto the tarmac, thrusters warming up in the cold air as they prepare for lift off, Cap being the first off the ground followed by Wolf then Tweak with Cobra bringing up the rear due to being overloaded as usual. While inflight all four men go silent, Cobra staring at the displays in front of him curiously as he leaves the flying to Blue Lady who is trying to dumb things down for him to help make the one hour flight bearable for the both of them as they head to a base near the mouth of the White Sea. As they near the AO they behind a mountain range to conceal their arrival, Wolf sneaks his mech up to the crest of the ridge, hidden in the trees as the sniper cannon unfolds while Cap goes over the imagines that are being fed to him from the cannon's scope. With the information in hand he begins to form a plan of attack that follows their unique combat styles, Cobra is to rush into the center of the base to draw the attention of the guards while Tweak sneaks around the back of the base to plant the demo charges on the cache, Cap will provide cover fire from the tree line and Wolf providing overwatch from the ridge.

When the fifteen minute limit is reached Cobra begins the bull rush into the dead center of the camp, back howitzers firing at everything that moves as he does a war cry out over the external speakers "COBRA HELP!" The front gate guards upon hearing the cry look at each other in confusion right before Cobra flies between the two mechs, the sudden shock of the attack has the guards pause long enough for Cobra to get out of sight before firing at where he was and calling the event into. As Tweak silently creeps along the rear perimeter to the base he hears klaxons being sounded which are promptly drowned out with the now continuous reports from the howitzers and explosions from Cobra. From the tree line Cap fires several rounds into any building that Cobra hasn't rammed, shot, or stomped to cinders to help clear it out as well as down anything that might pose a problem to the team. Cap calls over the comms to Wolf "Reaper 1-4 you seen anything down here?" he keeps firing as he awaits a reply from the squad sniper, after hearing nothing for a minute he rotates the camera to focus up on the hill where the sniper is perched and focuses in on him "Wolf you there man?" Wolf replies "yeah one sec… just let me finish this…" Smiles as the sound of the message finally going though is heard over the team comms "Ok what did you want?" picks up the sniper cannon to scan and fire on any mechs that the others may have missed, picking them off with ease as the cannon booms out each thunderous round. Tweak speaks up over the radio "Reaper 1-6 reporting all charges placed, ready to fire on your or…." Static fills the line as an explosion consumes the area where Tweak was previously standing "Not my fault… Blue Lady turned off Friendly Fire…" Cobra tries to apologize to an enraged Tweak as he is now piloting a crippled mech, round pinging off the armor. "Tweak bail out and I will send Wolf over to pick you up" Cap stands up and begins to move to help Cobra fall back, Wolf stands still holding the sniper cannon and boosts over to where Tweak now stands ontop of the trashed machine, fuming "I swear I am going to kill him this time… I SWEAR!" Wolf lands beside Tweak as he vents and laughs, opening up the auxiliary hatch for him to enter "Hey blame Blue Lady not him" Winks as he continues to laugh, closing the hatch to get back into the fight as the caches are now atomized from the charges, washing Wolf's mech in fire and debris. He boosts away to the fall back position as Blue Lady lights up all their screens "WARNING…. WARNING… HIGH ENERGY SIGNITURES DETECTED AND INCOMING! TAKE EVASIVE ACTIONS!" But before Aiden, Cap or Cobra can react all three of the remaining mechs shutter and die from the impact of the high intensity energy rounds, Aiden slams the ejection button desperately as the mech plummets towards the earth. Cap stands outside the smoldering wreck as he watches the holed machine fall, holding his breath as he watches for chutes.


	5. 5- RTB

Meanwhile back in the middle of the enemy base Cobra sits in his pilot's seat blinking curiously as he leans out the gaping hole where the right side of his mech used to be, holding onto Blue Lady's AI core tightly as he looks over the perfectly smooth surface as it glows red from the heat of the round "…not my fault…" He unbuckles the harness to drop down to the ground, grabbing the emergency radio on the foot of the mech to call in an evac and recovery team for the mech as he wonders to where Cap was, whistling happily and skipping while swinging the core. By the time Cobra reaches Cap's location Cap is already on the ground and ready to move to where Wolf and Tweak crashed to see if they made it out alive, Cap turns to the whistling Cobra and tilts his head "What are you so happy about?... Wolf and Tweak just go shot out of the sky… and may be dead… our mission is a disaster…" Cobra only smiles broadly, holding something out in his hand "I got s'mores..." Cap looks at the treat in the soldier's hand then back up at his face then down again "How you got to be a pilot is beyond me… but I will tell you what… I will buy you a calzone when we get back… any size… any filling you want… if and ONLY if we get up to the crash site before the enemies and get those two back…" Before Cap can say another word Cobra takes off running up the hill yelling like a little kid off on a scavenger hunt, the light from the core bobs after him through the woods "CALZONE HERE I COME!" Turning back to the destroyed base Cap looks in the direction where the three shots came from and frowns, wondering who shot them and from where exactly not knowing that the gunman was still looking at him, scope centered on his forehead. Cap soon turns and takes off up the hill after the bobbing blue light.

Far overhead in the outer atmosphere a spy satellite orbits the scene of the battle, beaming images and data steadily back to a command center back in Washington before being routed to another facility further away where in a pitch black room people sit at their desks, faces lit by the glow of computer monitors. Two women in particular stand leaning back against a railing to watch the battle play out on the large screen monitor, the one stands eyeing the screen intently while her companion is smiling down at her phone, texting away happily. She tucks her phone away and looks up as she brushes a strand of hair behind her ear "So sis… What do you think? It may be the group that we have been tracking for a while now… The make-up of the group seems consistent with reports but it is usually only one or two at a time" Jen turns to Serena and opens her mouth to continue speaking just as the screen shows the mech in the center of the base firing on the one near the perimeter, disabling it "Ok I guess I was wrong… that was rather sloppy and from what I have seen they make very few mistakes" Both women laugh and shake their heads, Serena sighing in disappointment as they were hoping to finally figure out who the operators where, and to this point every time they try to tap audio channels they get childish music over the comms and figure it's a counter measure not the music that Cobra plays in the cockpit of his mech. Serena turns to her sister and smiles "By the way I hear that there is a birthday coming up, care to tell me what your planning for little Serenity? And do you think Aiden will be able to make it this time or will work keep him away again…" Serena watches Jen sadden as she knows it's a touchie subject that their husbands are so busy with work, ignoring the screen until it flashes a brilliant whitish blue beams that strike the mechs, a sharp back feed of static washes over the room with a hollow voice calming calling out a mayday with coordinates and planned actions before the signal is severed upon impact. Both women watch the screen in a mix of shock and horror as they watch the crash, Serena is the first to move by placing her hand on Jen's shoulder and offers up a soft smile "hey… its been a long morning… lets take a break and grab some lunch ok?" Jen nods and leaves with her sister, texting Aiden to ask him when he will be home for Serenity's birthday.

Half way around the world Aiden's phone goes unnoticed as he roars out in blind fury, wielding dual combat knives held in a reverse grip and knuckle guards lined with smaller blades. Swiftly ducking and weaving between the trees as bullets shatter the bark near his shoulders and kick up dirt to cover the blood coating his face, slamming his back into the trunk of a nearby tree before rolling to his right and plunging the blade into the soldier's throat, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief as his blood sprays out form the severed arteries, slashing the blade clean of the corpse's neck he side steps to his left behind another tree as the area is riddled with gunfire. Back in the auxiliary cockpit Tweak has a MG36 shoulder and sprays the area opposite of where Wolf is currently at, shouting out a number as he drops another target, smirking as they play the same game on ever op. Both men finally shout out the same number as the forest grows quiet and still, Wolf straightening up to look around only to twist around suddenly at the sound of a solid metal thud and Cobra yelling out in glee "28! I will!" Wolf blinks for a moment as he realizes that Cobra just smashed some poor sod's head in with the metallic casing for Blue Lady's core "dude… she is gunna be so pissed…" As if on cue Blue Lady's voice comes on over their comms gear "Blue Lady already IS pissed… you think I like being flung around like… like… like… some LANTERN?! And then…. Oooo you're gunna regret using me like a barbaric club… I AM AN AI OR CHRIST SAKE! Not some kind of bludgeoning tool… do you have no resp…" Cobra blinks as he looks down at the core "A.I…. what does the A stand for?" Before anyone can answer the sounds of Cap arriving as well as the transport choppers for the ruined mechs drowns out any further need for conversation, one of the techies soon appears to relieve Cobra of Blue Lady's core as a jeep is dropped off for the squad to ride back to base in. Tweak and Cap take the front seats with Cap driving as Tweak and Wolf climb in the back, Wolf holding a bundle in his lap smiling sheepishly as he and Tweak whisper. After about an hour into the trip Cap frowns and turns back to them "What do you two find so interesting in that bundle...?" Both troopers straighten up and look forwards, faces blank, Cobra replies to the question "Nothing Cap… we were just talking about the mission…" Before either Wolf or Cobra can react a small Siberian husky puppy jumps out of the bundle and wiggles its way up to the front seat and into Cap's lap, tail wagging furious as it yips up to him. Cap turns back to Wolf and frowns "You know this is against regs right?..." Wolf can only reply with a shrug and a mumble of how it's a present for his daughter to which Cap shakes his head "Just hope this dog doesn't get car sick…" Several hours later the group pulls into the base, Cap is furious as the others are howling in laughter, Aiden stepping out of the car holding the dog as Cap get out covered in dog puke, all but running to the squad bay to shower. Several of the MPs see the spectacle and laugh as they pet the dog and it isn't until this moment that he checks his phone and finds the increasingly frantic texts from his wife as its rare for him not to reply right away to her. Simply smiles and replies "Coming home early, hit a few snags. Also picked up a gift I think Serenity will love"


	6. 6- Disappointment and heartbreak

After the twenty four hour long flight back from Europe Aiden stands with his arms folded across his chest and leaning back against his car as he waits for the bell to ring to signal the end of daycare, smiling politely to the other parents that look his way. It's not much longer that he has to wait until the doors open and a flood of children comes rushing out to disperse to their respective families with Serenity and Ember among them, upon seeing him the girls rush over to him happily while Aiden kneels down to scoop both girls up in his arms to spin them around and is rewards with giggles as well as the appropriate greets. As he straps them both into their car seats they talk excitedly about what happened at daycare and go into great detail on the one boy that started to throw paint around during arts and crafts period while Aiden drives them home, looking in his rearview mirror from time to time out of habit but plays it off as looking at the girls instead. Upon arriving at the Shield residence the girls are unbuckled from the car but wait for Aiden to unlock the door for them, not noticing all the other cars parked in the driveway but continue to talk until the door is opened and a thunderous "Happy Birthday Serenity" washes over them soon followed by the husky pup pouncing on Serenity all but tackling her to the ground and licking her face happily. This brings a chorus of laughter as Aiden saves his daughter from the puppy, closing the door as Ember runs off to her parents giggling, Serenity turns in his arms to look up at him with wide eyes "Can we keep the puppy daddy?... I promise to take care of him and walk him and feed him… I promise!... please please please please!" Aiden just as his daughter hugs his neck and dries her face on his shirt "Well lets as your mommy first if it is alright with her" Aiden kisses Jen affectionately on the cheek as he hands her their daughter whom promptly clings to and giggles, Jen puts on a serious expression as she contemplated the issue "Well daddy did kidnap the puppy from its family… smuggle it into the country and who knows what other illegal things he did to get you the puppy so yeah we can keep him" Aiden places a hand over his heart as he pretends to be hurt by that statement "Always the detective arnt we" Laughs out "You're not gunna cuff me and haul me off to jail?" Jen winks over her shoulder as she takes Serenity to greet the other guests "Promises promises" The family is joined by Robert and Serena, Nathan and Cassidy who are Jen and Serena's parents, along with several of Serenity's friends from daycare.

Once the party gets well underway Jen and Serena lead the kids off to play games while Nathan and Cassidy help them, Aiden grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge and walks to Robert, tossing him one as he pops the top off the bottle to take a swig "So any new intel on who the hell shot us down out there? My money is still on the Chinese since they are the leaders in energy based tech" Robert catches the beer and smiles over at the group of assembled children as they attempt to break a piñata, Ember currently taking her turn "Scuttlebug is that it's the French… Something about mercenaries buying black market parts and plans from whatever country they can sneak them from… That means us…" Robert looks at Aiden letting the news sink in as well as to see if he understands where this is headed. Aiden swears under his breath which is heavily accented by his Gallic heritage "Jesus fooking Christ Robert… I just got home and now you want to send me on another fooking op?..." The venom in his voice is almost palatable as he glares down the squad leader "when would I be leaving?..." The reply brings another string of curses but this time Jen hears him and looks over, knowing the tone and accent as well as that something bad is soon about to happen. Jen turns to her sister, offering a smile up but not able to hide her concern "Hey sis can you watch things here for a bit?" Serena having heard Aiden nods and promptly ushers the kids outside to play, Cassidy and Nathan lingering for a moment before deciding its best to go outside as well. Aiden sighs and tries to smile as his wife walks over frowning deeply "Hey sweetie… me and Robert were just talking…" noticing that the house is empty Aiden furrows his brows and tilts his head "And where is everyone at?" Robert who is trying to make an exit is grabbed by the wrist and held in place as Jen glares at her husband "I heard you swearing… Now tell me what exactly is going on here" upon releasing Robert she looks between the men, hands on her hips looking rather imposing for her height. Aiden shakes his head and sighs, gesturing to Robert "Go ahead… tell her…" Robert shooting a glare at the man before turning to his sister in law, putting on an apologetic façade before telling her "I am really sorry Jen… but Aiden is being sent on another trip to Europe… apparently the group we talked to wants to revise the terms agreed upon between the groups and…" Robert's eyes go wide as the sound of Jen's hand slapping his cheek echoes through the home, tears visible on her face, her rage and frustration clearly evident as she turns on Aiden "Fine… go play pretend soldier with your damn company… when you get back we are going to be talking about a few things…" Turning on her heels she storms out of the house to tell the group that things had to be cut short and apologizes, Aiden reaching for her shoulder as she leaves but is shrugged off, leaving the two in silence. Aiden turns to Robert and glares "Some birthday huh?..." tosses the bottle into the sink where it shatters and drains the rest of the beer down the drain, leaving Robert standing there looking at his own drink while he grabs his ready bag from the study and leaves for the base.

By the time Aiden reaches the base Robert has been sent home with Ember and Serenity while Serena, Nathan, and Cassidy try to console Jen but with little success. Aiden in a rage blows past all the security check points as the guards recognize the look in his eyes and know well enough not to get in his way as he heads for the Lt. Col.'s office, rounding a corner and all but running into Cobra. In the split second it takes his to realize he almost hit someone Aiden's training kicks in and instinct takes over, he draws back his right hand which he forms into a fist and slams it into Cobra's face, shattering the man's nose and putting the soldier on the floor, Cobra simply blinks up at Wolf "Something bothering you?" Wolf shakes his head angrily and walks past the bleeding soldier as he continues to the office "Don't ask Cobra…" Cobra blinks again as he tilts his head back to watch Wolf continue down the hallway, rolling over and standing up to follow as if nothing just happened "Awww come on man… tell me what is bugging you… Seriously" Wolf holds his left hand up to flips Cobra the bird over his shoulder as he walks into the Lt. Col.'s office and slams the door behind him. Cobra sighs softly and runs a hand down his face in a mix of exhaustion and worry, feeling the blood on his hand and looks at it in mild surprise "huh… so that's why my face feels funny… oh well" Turns to head for the medical bay as the voices of the occupants of the office erupt in a yelling match which is soon followed by the sounds of something flying through a glass window and shattering on the floor, counting to five Cobra waits, smirking as he then hears the sound of a door slamming and open back up slowly as it has been forced off its hinges slightly from the force of the impact "They really need to Wolf proof the base… I swear" laughing happily Cobra continues on his way whistling through the blood. Once in the squad bay Wolf is suiting up in a modified wing suit for a High Altitude High Opening drop into France for the first stage of his mission, packing a P90 suppressed along with a red dot sight on it as well as a suppressed 1911 for a sidearm, dual combat knives as always for last resort weapons. Takes one last look in his locker and sighs, his eyes lingering on the photo of him, his wife and daughter then to the will he wrote out underneath it as well as a confession to his wife about his job, closing the door to the locker he turns to leave the bay picking up the helmet to the suit on his way out. As he walks he seats the helmet on his head, listening to the hiss of the seal as he is plunged into a momentary darkness while the systems warm up, before long the visor clears and data scrolls along the screen to show that he is ready to go. Stepping into the pod that he will "pilot" to the release point before parachuting in the rest of the way, the pod in which he now occupies is a modified rocket in where he lays prone on his stomach while the missile is launched directly up into the lower atmosphere before changing direction to give the operator enough momentum to get to where he needs to be. Wolf closes his eyes and prepares for the gut wrenching lurch as the engines ignite under him.


	7. 7- Business Trip

As Aiden is launched across the Atlantic in the specialized pod Jen is sitting in the comm room to watch over the skeleton crew as well as to get away from her family to think and clear her head from the day, switching through the cameras at several international airports in France to watch for any known terrorists and to see if her husband made it in safety. When the plane that Aiden was flying on arrives she focuses in on the gate that he would be exiting through, watching all the passengers and is mildly surprised to not see Aiden among the group so she does what is natural, grabs her phone that sits on the desk before her to send a simple text "Hey baby, did your flight get in alright?" At this time the pod that Aiden was traveling in hits the lower atmosphere and peels apart like a banana, flinging the soldier through the air towards France, the special suit he is wearing heating up from the sudden friction of the air, looking down his stomach feels like it falls out watching the ocean and continents slide past under him. Aiden has no way to notice that his cell vibrated from the text that Jen just sent him. At the time Aiden is flung through lower space an alarm is sounded signaling the missile on the radar for a brief moment before it peels apart to release Wolf on his mission, during the 15 seconds that Jen has the projectile on radar the post dives into a flurry of activity to find its launch point and its classification. Before they can figure anything out the pod is burned up and the only thing left for them to track is the roughly 6' long core which gives off no signature to track what so ever so the anomaly is marked up as a failed satellite launch. But after about half an hour since the anomaly Jen begins to think things are off, and worried since Aiden has yet to reply to the text which is highly odd for him.

Back over the Mid-Atlantic Aiden watches his visor beginning to freeze over, ice crystals and tendrils starting at the edges and working their way to the center as the digital displays tick off his altitude, speed, external temp as well as a map with way points marking his progress. After roughly twenty minutes of free fall he hits a way points which signals him to deploy his chute for the remainder of the two hour HAHO into France, not able to hear the fabric being torn from his pack but feels the sudden jerk up and grabs the risers to steer along the plotted route, which is constantly being updated via weather satellites to adjust for weather changes and wind patterns. It is not until Aiden lands in a French field and stores his chute almost three hours later that Jen gets the reply to the text she sent which brings on a wave of relief, anger and curiosity as to why it took him so long to reply, as she leans back into the chair she types out a reply "baby? Did something happen with your flight? You were supposed to land three hours ago…" Aiden is hoofing it across the open field as his personal phone vibrates in his pocket, groaning some as he digs it out to read the message while he hits the tree line, buttons clicking in the cool night as his thumb works the keys to reply "Things got a little delayed on the flight over, weather as usual. Then I got picked up by the French security team as soon as I landed and of course they had to go out and drink lol" Tucks the phone away as he picks up motions in his peripheral vision and stops, nodding to the soldiers that surround him, one soldier patting him down to check him before nodding to the leader whom extends a hand to Wolf as well as a greeting. The sun is already starting to raise as the group reaches the outskirts of a small French suburb outside Paris where they fit Wolf with a spare set of clothing so he can blend in more with the general populace as he is given a final briefing on the mission, locating the black market and arms dealers selling the mech parts.

Still jet lagged from the launch over to Europe Wolf decides to head out for a cup of coffee now that the surrounding area is starting to come to life as morning marches on, melting into the crowd he smiles and listens to the people chatting as they go about their daily lives. Taking a seat in one of the outdoor café and orders a black coffee from the waitress sitting with his back to the café so he can watch the people walking to and fro as he sips the drink. As the waitress refills Wolf's cup as a woman pulls out the chair to the table behind him and sits, ordering a drink as well, Wolf tenses up as he takes a sip, hearing her voice "Hello Wolf… it is nice to finally meet you in person… I take it you are here to find out about my operation?" The woman's voice is a thick Irish accent, turning slightly Wolf is able to get a glimpse of the woman, placing her at her mid-thirties, long brown hair that reaches to the middle of her shoulder blades and matching eyes. The eyes seem to draw his attention the most as they seem familiar but cannot be places, taking a sip from his coffee he acts casual but his voice venomous "So I assume you're the one that shot my team with the energy weapons? And why are you contacting me like this?..." Wolf moves to turn more but the woman's voice sounds in a motherly voice as if scolding an unruly child "tsk tsk tsk… turn around too far and the sniper three blocks down, left side of the street, roof top will drop you where you sit… that's a good boy" Wolf growls as he faces away from the woman as he listens to her talk "That was my squad that shot you down Wolf, and I will even make your job easier by giving you the location of the black market we use" Wolf can here the scratching of a pen on paper as the woman speaks and the sounds of a chair sliding back and sound of heels on the cobble stone, blinking as she places a manila folder on the table in front of him "Happy reading Wolf"


	8. 8- Learning Curve

Wolf waits for thirty seconds, watching the roof top where the sniper was posted up, seeing the figure shifting and disappearing behind the ledge before picking up the folder, pays the tab before leaving at a hurried pace to the safe house. Taking several different routes and making sure he wasn't followed before finally entering the building, nodding a greeting as he heads upstairs and enters a room which he locks the door behind him. Tosses the folder on desk more in frustration than anything as he thinks over the possibilities as to how she knew who he was yet he has no idea to whom she was, pacing the room as he thinks but stops when he glances down at the contents of the folder that spilled out when it was thrown on the desk. Sitting down at the desk he flips through the pages, his stomach falling out with each page he reads "Jesus Christ… this is the intel for the Russian op last month… and it is the same intel we were given…" Wolf's hands shake slightly when he begins to realize the files were not only better intel than what his team was given but it still has the officer's handwritten notes in the margins, meaning that they got it directly from the spooks… maybe even have been the ones to give them the intel for the mission. But it is not until Wolf reaches the end of the reports that something strikes him as odd, flipping back through the pages he looks over everything a little more, eyes lingering on the handwriting "And why does this seem so familiar?..." He remains sitting looking at the handwriting, the style and mannerisms of the author seems to ring bells but he can't seem to place them no matter how much he thinks about it he can't find a face to put with the words and that is driving him crazy. A small business card falls from folder when Wolf turns it over, and on it is an address, name and number, to which he gives to his French colleagues before pulling the leader to the side, speaking in a hurried French tone "I need to get back to my team soonest… I trust you can handle things with the black market?... something is wrong here and I need to speak to my Lt. Col. immediately" The leader simply nods and leaves to book a flight for him as Wolf returns to pack his gear for the return trip. It is not long before Wolf is on a transport home, all his gear at his feet as the C-130 taxis down the runway for the skip home which takes far too long in his mind, tapping his foot nervously as the craft begins its landing on the air strip.

As soon as Wolf lands Cap Cobra and Tweak are all there to greet him as well as the Lt. Col., with whom he motions for them all to follow him to the briefing room, dropping the folder on the table and letting the contents scatter "Well Sir… you wanna tell me how the person that was trying to kill us in Russia not only knew who I was but has the same intel as us and better since it looks like they jacked the paper from the officers themselves…" Cap picks up several papers and looks them over, noticing the handwriting and having the same problem Wolf with trying to place the writing; Cap turns to the Lt. Col and holds up the forms to him "Sir where do we get our intel from?... I mean who are the officers that sign off and ship it?" The Lt. Col. plainly ignores the question as he looks over the remaining documents, knowing exactly who the officers are and their relations to Cap and Wolf and has no intentions of having them find out. After a shorter than usual debrief of the op Cap, Wolf and Tweak all go out for a drink while Cobra heads back to his bay as usual, the Lt. Col. pulls his phone out and calls up Jen first telling her there will be a meeting to discuss several matters in about an hour, after getting her to agree he calls up Serena to tell her the same thing after which he heads to the intel office that is the better part of an hour away from Reaper base. Upon his arrival the place is running a full crew with both sisters there in the conference room waiting for him. Jen starts off first "So what was so important that you called us in" to stem a stream of questions Lt. Col. tosses down the folder for the women to see, whom instantly recognize the hand writing "It seems we have a leak somewhere in this department… one of the field operatives secured this within the pass twenty four hours from a contact in France. Any ideas how they got the intel we gave to the ground team that went in to deal with it" the Lt. Col paces around the desk as he places a hand over his mouth thinking, Jen frowns slightly and looks at the man "You said an operative was just over in France and got this?... Who was it by chance?" Jen watches the Lt. wave off the question but it only leads to more questions but before she can ask Serena interjects "Don't worry about it sir… we will find the leak and take care of it…" With that Serena takes Jen by the hand to lead her outside to talk, closing the door to the building before rounding on her sister "Ok I know you and that look… but we need to figure out where this leak happened… those were the documents we sent for the ground forces… those were our responsibility…" Serena sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, Jen looks at her sister with her arms across her chest "…Sis… something is wrong… The operation in Russia and Aiden and Robert leaving?... Aiden going to France and suddenly this report shows up?..." Jen bites her bottom lip "I mean come on sis… you have to agree Aiden and Robert arnt telling us something…" Serena simply sighs and smiles, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder "I am sure your just over thinking things Jen… now come on we have some work to do" with that both women walk back inside to get to work finding the leak in the department.


End file.
